A New Age
by Warriors-of-Iznugia
Summary: Peace. Calm. All was well. Nothing to fear, nothing to battle. No use for knights. No use for Star Warriors. One mistake, and all the peace and calm was blown away.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So. Hey. I had this idea the other day. I thought this over. And I thought it would be fun. So I'll try this out.**

** Have a good day. :D**

Time had gotten long. He watched it fly by, day after day, and listened absentmindedly to the ticking clock. The summer was eternal, and each day would start with a warm sun on a perfect, blue sky, and end with a cloudless, dark night. There was nothing to guard anymore. Every morning, he would send out his subordinates to patrol the castle, and he would wait. Wait. Wait. For what? He didn't know exactly. However, he knew there must be something more. He was old for the villagers, yes, but to his species' long lifespan, it was nothing. It was impossible that he would only stay in the castle all day, waiting, waiting, waiting, for time to pass by, for ages to come and leave, for people to die and kids to grow. It wasn't a life.

So, he decided to leave the castle. Every morning, he would leave, head to the forest, to the beach, to the mountain, sometimes even farther away, and would come back in the evening. It didn't bring anything new or exciting, but it drove his mind away from the routine. After all, this planet was probably the most calm world of this galaxy. There was nothing on the roads, the animals were nice, the cappys were as innocent as they were sociable, and there was nothing to fear from anything, anywhere. The king had reduced the number of mischiefs per day, simply sticking to his old habits of breaking the calm here and there. He had given up trying to drive out Kirby. The inhabitants of the village were simply too grateful for all that Kirby had done over the years to listen to the king's complaints. As for the pink, young one, he had certainly grown, he couldn't say otherwise. For lack of a real school, Fumu had taken care of his education and had watched over everything, from his language to his writing to his ability to live alone. She had left nothing on the side, and now she was even already planning to leave to far away universities when she would be of age. For now, her parents were keeping her. Bun, as for himself, was often seen in company of Sword and Blade, and rumors had it that he was interested in the arts of the sword. They had all grown so fast…

"Sir Meta Knight?"

The sun was beating down that day. The heat made his mind foggy, almost absent. Fresh sea waves washed up to his feet and soaked them in their cold embrace, the only thing that reminded him that time was still passing by. Cape held tightly around his round body, he turned his amber gaze to his right. A few meters away from him, there were Sword, Blade and Bun.

"What are you doing out here?" Blade asked, trying to stay as respectful as his surprise let him.

Meta Knight remained silent a moment longer, mind processing what he was seeing. He was at the beach. The castle was on the hill, far over there.

"What are you three doing here? I thought I had asked you to patrol the _castle_, not the beach."

He heard a small, surprised gasp almost hidden under that helmet. Sword was the first to speak up:

"W-well, we were done with the patrols, and there was really nothing unusual, Sir. We thought we might take Bun to a training session, uh, over here! We thought you were… uh…"

Meta Knight smirked a little under his mask, allowing a brief chuckle to escape his throat, stopping the younger knight in his lie. They were not going to train. They already smelled of sweat.

"You were heading out for a swim, were you not?"

The silence answered him, and despite not being able to tell by the look in their hidden eyes, Bun's face told him all he needed to know. Sword and Blade bowed down, stiff as sticks.

"We apologize, Sir…," they both said in synch, their move soon followed by Bun, who repeated.

"I never said I was angry…"

Meta Knight spun around, and started the trek toward the other end of the beach. He called out:

"…But I never said I wasn't."

And he didn't hear or see whatever they would have done next, for he ventured far on the beach, and continued his walk toward the forest. He came back at the castle in late afternoon, and as the sun was setting down, he could only look at the tall walls with a strange feeling inside. Tomorrow, he would do the same thing as today. Walk around, come back, head to the balcony, and watch the stars until early in the morning and go to bed, barely sleep, and start back again. He stopped in his tracks, tightening his grip on his cape briefly, before letting it flow behind him. He spun around and headed toward the village. There were nice benches in the central square where he would be able to think. The air was getting fresh, making it more confortable.

However, as Bun was getting back to his home, he walked past the doors to the throne room and heard a sudden ruckus that made him jump. The young man stopped dead in his tracks and spun toward the closed doors. He could even hear the king yell.

"Idiots! Don't drop that, it's all we have left! You'd better hope none of them are broken, you fools!"

Bun was surprised, for even though the king would get angry easily, it was rare that he would throw threats like that.

"Now, now, Your Majesty, I'm sure they're all okay! Actually, I still wonder why you kept that…"

"What do you want me to do, throw them in the river while I could still put them to good use? You don't waste demon maker like that!"

"It is called Grand Esker Demon Best Formula, thank you…"

"It don't matter! Now all of you get that mess cleaned!"

Bun's heart skip a beat, or maybe three. Demon maker? Escargon had made some more? Before he could think more about this, he heard footsteps coming toward the door. Without hesitating, he ran up to the end of the hallway, where he hid behind the corner and poked his head back in. The doors opened, and a group of six Waddle Dees came out, carrying a large box on top of their head. He could only the tops of at least a dozen of glass bottles, filled to the brim with a dark magenta liquid. They headed down the opposite side of the hallway, and soon Escargon came out as well, followed by Dedede. They all disappeared down the corridor. Taking in a deep breath, Bun ran all the way toward the knights' apartments. They had to know.

In the village, Kirby came out of Kawasaki's restaurant, holding his belly and licking his lips. The chef came out after him, a large smile on his goofy face.

"Come back tomorrow!" he called to the puffball. "I'm going to test my new recipe!"

"You bet I'll be there!" Kirby said as he waved to the optimistic chef. "Thanks for the meals, you're getting better!"

He walked ahead almost aimlessly for a moment, thinking back to his great meals and the taste still present in his mouth. With age, he was more aware of the art of tasting what he ate, but still he didn't understand how the villagers couldn't eat Kawasaki's cooking. It wasn't that bad! Absentmindedly, he made his way to the central square, less populated at this hour. The children's laughter died down when they were called in for supper, and now he could relax more. As he was heading toward the tree in the center, he stopped when he noticed his favorite bench was occupied. Meta Knight was there, staring up at the sky. His eyes were a soft, shiny green, and he had learned that this color meant he wasn't aware of his surroundings. Sometimes, when Kirby walked out of the castle back to his home, he would see the warrior perched atop his balcony, staring in the distance with those eyes. One time, he had remained there all day… Was it really all that he did of his days? Staring at nothing? Confused, Kirby made his way to the bench and casually sat down, not only trying to get his attention, but also to calm his filled stomach. Meta Knight didn't make a single move. Kirby stopped himself from sighing and simply waved a hand in front of his face.

"Siiiiiir Meta Kniiiiiiiiight…"

His mentor blinked, turning his eyes back to their usual golden hue, then turned his head toward him.

"Oh, Kirby," he said. "Forgive me, I didn't notice you. You've grown subtle over the years."

"Says the one who always appear out of nowhere."

A very faint chuckle came from under that mask of his, and he looked back straight forward, into the street ahead. Kirby did the same and simply followed his gaze. A moment of silence lasted between them, but it wasn't ackward, simply… relaxed. Eversince Kirby had grown, they both had moments like these, where there was nothing to say but it wasn't strange, just natural.

"I trained yesterday," Kirby said. "It's been a while since I've actually used a sword without inhaling it beforehand…"

"Did it go well?"

"Uh… well… It depends what you mean by 'well'. I guess I should start putting a little more effort in my training."

There was another moment of silence before he heard it; a mumbled sentence, like words that didn't belong in that usually wisdom filled mouth.

"It's not like there is a use for knights on this world anymore…"

Kirby turned his head to him. His mentor's eyes were green again, but this time it wasn't shiny or soft; simply a darker, plain green. He hadn't seen this hue in a long time…

"What do you mean?"

Meta Knight didn't answer for a moment, then slowly shook his head in a dismissal manner.

"No, forget what I said. You should go back home, Kirby. It is getting late."

On that mark, the knight stood up, held his cape around himself and left without another word. Kirby remained sitting there, the words echoing in his head. No use for knights… It was with a heavy sigh that he stood up and went another way, toward his house. As he approached his dome-like home, he stopped right in front. He had forgotten that Tokkori wasn't alone today. Sighing, he opened the door and was greeted by the sight of the little bird, Rick and Kine (who was in a giant bowl of water near the window), all watching TV. They all turned to him and the hamster saluted him with a wave.

"Hi Kirby! Wanna watch the show with us?"

Kirby turned his gaze to the screen, where there was a strange show of sorts that looked like a quiz. Over the years, the TV system had gotten all around the planet, so now they didn't have to listen to Dedede each and everytime they opened the machine. The puffball silently shook his head and strolled to his bed, where he let himself fall down, shooing Tokkori away from his pillow. The little bird quickly flew off to the end of the bed, shouting:

"Hey! I was sitting there!"

"This is my bed, Tokkori. If I want to sleep in it, I'll sleep in it."

"Pff! I prefered when you were small and dumb and slept in the tree!" the annoying bird scoffed before turning back to the screen.

Kine swam up to the edge of the bowl and poked his large face out.

"Are you okay, Kirby? You seem a little off."

Kirby shook his head, waving his hand, and hid his face in the pillow, almost already ready to fall asleep. He didn't know why Meta Knight's words got to him like that. It wasn't like he was a knight himself, was it? However, ten minutes had barely passed that there were frantic knocks at the door, waking him up from his semi-sleep. The door opened without anyone standing up to get it and Fumu ran in, taking in at first how many people there were in here, then seeing Kirby hidden in his covers.

"There you are!" she said as she came closer. "We need your help at the castle, Kirby!"

He sat up, rubbing his eyes, suppressing a yawn. He stood up and followed her without too much question outside.

"What's wrong?" he asked her as they quickly made their way on the road up the hill.

"Bun saw Dedede with a box filled with demon-maker serum. We gotta find that box before he uses it!"

Kirby's eyes widened. He remembered just too well how this serum had worked on a crow and how it would have been terrible on Dyna Blade's chick. Heart pounding, he ran faster, holding his friend's hand so not to lose her behind. They ran across the bridge, past a few confused Waddle Dees, and into the corridors, where he skidded to a stop. In the hall, Sword, Blade and Bun were already there, waiting almost anxiously. Upon seeing them arrive they all ran up to them and Bun spoke first.

"Finally! I thought you got lost or something."

"So what exactly is going on?" Kirby asked before anyone got too excited.

"Fumu told you about the serum?" Sword asked him beforehand, to which Kirby nodded. "All we need is to split up to find the box before they use it. Then we'll see what we'll do with it. The more we are on this, the faster we'll find it."

"Have you two seen our lord on the way here?" Blade questioned in a brief worried tone.

Kirby slightly narrowed his eyes. Didn't Meta Knight come back earlier? If not, then were was he? Just as oblivious as they were, he said:

"I saw him earlier in town, but we separated. I thought he was here."

The two knights looked at each other, as if speaking silent words. Blade nodded and spun around to quickly walk down a hallway toward the Knight Wing. Sword remained with them and looked at the three of them, nodding as well.

"Alright. Let's go. I'll take the East Wing."

"I'll go to the basement," Kirby decided.

Fumu and Bun respectively chose the attic and the West Wing. Soon enough, they all separated and went their own way.

Kirby arrived at one, old door and opened it to look down. It was like a dark pit of complete blackness. Sighing, he walked up to a torch on the wall of the corridor and came back with it, lighting the long set of stairs descending in the basement. In complete silence, he arrived downstairs and looked around. He knew the way ahead lead to both the dungeon and the cellar. Maybe the box was hidden in the dungeon… Sighing yet again, he walked ahead, holding the torch in front of him to light his path. It had been so long since Dedede had done anything… It was like he didn't take it seriously anymore. He soon arrived in front of the large, gloomy room. In the air lingered the smell of rot, like some small animals all stuck in the same room and rotting all together. Kirby almost choked, but took a deep breath outside and went in, staying focused on his task. It wasn't hard. He just had to look for a box.

He looked everywhere in the cells, but there was absolutely nothing. Once he came out of the room, he took in a deep breath, then headed on toward the cellar. It was mostly the Cabinet Minister that came here often. He didn't know whether or not the king drank any wine of sorts, but Kirby knew that himself wasn't a big fan of it. The cellar wasn't that wide a room; it was mainly occupied by huge wine barrels. Kirby looked around, moving his torch with his eyes, and soon saw it; it wasn't that well hidden even. It was simply put between two barrels. Satisfied, he picked up the box and held it on his head with his free hand, before leaving the basement. The others would be pretty happy with this. A small smile on his face, he left the cellar, with a box filled with eleven bottles of serum.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey! Not mad that I took so long? No? Neat! I actually have four stories going on, one of which is not a fanfiction, so, yeah, with college and all, it takes all of my time. I wanna sleep too, yo!**

** On a side note, for the rest of the story, I won't be describing Sword and Blade when they're without their helmets. Why? Because, for being in this fandom for so long, I know there are so many people out there, both here on and on Deviantart, that have their own view of their looks. So, I am leaving you with your own imagination! On that, have a good read!**

Later that night, Kirby walked out of the castle, yawning. He had brought the box back to the Knight's apartments, where he had waited for the others. Surprisingly, neither Blade or Meta Knight had been there. When Bun, Fumu and Sword came back, empty-handed, they were pretty rejoiced to see the box. Sword had claimed that they would take care of it and find a way to get rid of the serum safely. After that, Kirby left, getting pretty tired. His meals at Kawasaki's were weighting down on his body, telling him to go to bed and rest for tomorrow. When walking down the hill, he looked up at the sky. It was such a beautiful night… A small smile stretching his lips, he went off the road toward the coast. He had always liked the beach at night. It offered a refreshing wind in the hotness of summer, a freshness that helped him sleep better when his covers got too warm to his liking. When his feet trailed in the warm and darkened sand, he looked up at the moon, which was shaped like a _croissant_ tonight, and his eyes reflected its pure, white light. He breathed in and out deeply and slowly, following the meditation process Meta Knight had taught him a few years back. His body relaxed and all thoughts of the demon-making serum left his mind, as well as Meta Knight's words about the peace.

When he finally turned to continue on toward his house, which was on the other side of the beach up a small hill, he noticed he wasn't alone after all. Over there, Meta Knight and Blade were talking; while the latter remained in retreat, Meta Knight's feet kept being washed by the waves reaching up to swallow him, only reaching to his hips and retreating back in the ocean. He couldn't hear them from here, but he didn't wish to interrupt them either, so, even though the curiosity nagged him, he left the beach and quickly found the road again.

As he headed on for his house, he could only wonder what had got Meta Knight so strange today. Or maybe it had been happening for some time and he hadn't even noticed it…? Maybe Sword and Blade knew more. As his house appeared in the distance, Kirby told himself that he would try and pass more time with his mentor. Maybe all that was needed was some company.

The day after, he ran up to the castle in the morning, intent on hearing about what happened to the box. As he walked through the castle courtyard, he was surprised to see Dedede, walking out of the main doors. He too saw Kirby, and as he did, if he had looked a little surprised at first, it was quickly erased and replaced by a large smile stretching his beak. He waved and walked over, calling:

"Heyyyyyyyy! If it isn't our dear hero, Kirby! What brings you to my castle today?"

Kirby could only stare, dumbfounded, as Dedede walked up to him and slapped him on the back, still smirking strangely. It was all too odd not to be a trap of some sort. Kirby wanted to say something about his oh-so-great subtelty, but he bit his tongue and said instead:

"As usual. You seem to be in a pretty good mood."

Dedede suddenly burst out laughting, scaring Kirby a little too much.

"Oh, my mood is pretty good, thank you! Actually, I can't wait for the New Year's festival this year. I'm already planning the party!"

Kirby remembered that, indeed, the festival was coming up, in less than two months. Gosh, he sure took things in advance… Dedede slapped him again on the back, saying:

"Well, gotta go! See ya later, puffball!"

And off he went, leaving a horrified Kirby standing there. What exactly had just happened? Dedede had been… social with him? He had thought he would take out his hammer and scare him away with it, but now he had been… nice. Suspicious, fake, but nice nonetheless. Something was off here… Taking a long, deep breath, Kirby inflated his body and flapped his arms, until he started flying like a balloon. He reached the window to the Prime Minister's apartments, a window he had often flew through, and landed on the windowsill. They always kept it open, so he freely jumped in the kitchen, in which Memu, Parm and the children were eating breakfast. Oh, boy! Memu had made pancakes!

"Oh, hello Kirby," Parm saluted, straying his eyes away from his newspaper for a split second before looking back again.

"Hi guys!" Kirby said as he jumped on the chair that had always been there for him.

"How are you doing today?" Fumu asked, setting her fork down.

Before he could even bring up the subject of Dedede being too weird for his own good, Memu set a plate filled with six pancakes before him and left the syrup bottle near, so with a quick, happy thanks, he took the bottle, dipped it until all the pancakes were soaked, and began eating. Fumu smiled and waited until the plate was licked clean, which wasn't long, and soon Kirby set it back down, licking his lips.

"Fantastic as always!" he sighed dreamingly, making himself confortable in his chair. "Oh! I almost forgot! Have you guys seen the king today?"

They all shook their heads, and Parm answered:

"I am supposed to meet him later this afternoon. Why?"

Kirby scratched his head and felt it best to tell him so he wouldn't be taken by surprise by his… behaviour.

"Well… I saw him when I came here, and, huh… He was kinda weird."

"How does that change him for the usual?" Bun asked with a smirk.

"No, no, not in that sense, but… in a friendly, social way. He was big smiles all over! That's just… creepy."

Fumu and her brother shared a knowing look, and Kirby knew they thought about the box of demon-maker serum as well. Maybe Dedede didn't know he didn't have it anymore. Th rest of the morning went on without any more signs of Dedede causing trouble or doing anything suspicious. After breakfast, Kirby had to take math lessons with Fumu; they were getting harder and harder as the years passed by, but he was getting better himself, even though maths weren't part of his best abilities. At noon, when his lessons were done, they went to eat at Kawasaki's, who showed a new recipe including his super spicy curry. Mouth still burning, the pink warrior then separated from Fumu, who had to go study the Pupu History with Curio, and went for his usual training in the fields. He took his own blade from his house, a short sword his still small size could easily use without too much trouble, and left. It was light and fast, perfect for him. Under Fumu's advice, he tried not to inhale it, for he also needed to train his body for when he didn't have anything to inhale and transform. She was right, and over the time, he could feel the effects. A feeling of being stronger, both physically and mentally, and pride often washed through him when he succeeded something far bigger than he usually did.

In the middle of his training, while he was trying to slash perfectly upward while jumping, something caught his eye in the distance. That large shape could only be Dedede… His focus broken, the Star Warrior fell back down on his bouncy head and he gasped in surprise, laying in the grass. He stayed immobile there a moment, then straightened up to look again. Yup, it was Dedede. He was walking with Mayor Len and the Prime Minister and was waving his arms all around them, as if exclaiming something amazing. Maybe it was the New Year's festival he had talked about this morning. Boy, he told himself, he sure was ecstatic about it this year… Usually, he would just throw a party and try here and there to get rid of him.

Time passed. Two months to be exact, and with the incoming spring came the New Year's festival. Just as Kirby had predicted, the festival was as grand as the first times he had witnessed this celebration. The king had actually planned a whole party in the fields, invited all of the village for it and even installed inflatable houses for the kids to jump in and have fun. There were many tables with an enormous buffet on each, which made Kirby literally drool, and barrels of wine had been moved there from the castle cellar for everyone to enjoy. When everyone was present, confused but overjoyed, Dedede stood up on a table and, stepping in a bowl of pudding, he called, stretching his arms to the sides:

"Welcome to this year's New Year's festival! As you can see, I did all of this so you commoners- er, I mean, villagers, may have fun! So, eat! Drink! And most of all, enjoy yourselves!"

As he watched him jump down, Kirby made himself a mental note not to eat that pudding. And thus the party began. All in all, Kirby had fun. He stayed for a while with the other kids his age and even got to try the inflatable houses, something he rarely had the chance to do. As he jumped along with Honey, Hohhe, Iroo, Rick and Bun, he felt something was off. Not about the night, not about the party, not about anything. The problem was his place. He knew, deep in his gut, that this inflatable house wasn't meant for him. Yes, it was fun. Yes, he was laughing. But his mind was elsewhere…

Sighing deeply, he jumped less and less and subtly escaped the house, leaving his friends inside. They hadn't even noticed that he was gone. Scratching his head in confusion, he looked over to the buffet tables. Of course, a lot of the villagers were around them, eagerly eating or talking, but for him, they were too many. Maybe he wanted to be more… alone? Fumu always told him that loneliness was always something to avoid the most. Whevener he would feel alone, he was told to come and see her or anyone. Now, Kirby didn't want to go see anyone. Greatly confused, he was about to turn around and leave the party, but a large belly stood in his way and almost gave him a heart attack. Dedede slapped him on the back, yet again almost making him fall flat on his face, and almost yelled, too overjoyed to feel true:

"Hey! Hi, Kirby! You're enjoying yourself tonight, eh?"

Kirby was about to respond something, anything that would suffice, but Dedede continued and handed something out for him.

"Here, I brought you this. You could say it's a… uh… an apology! for all the stuff I did, blahblahblah, you know what I mean."

It was a glass of deep red wine, almost as proof that Kirby was an adult and could understand the meaning behind this gift. As Dedede kept it in his face, Kirby had no choice but to take it. He muttered a 'thank you', but he barely finished the last word that Dedede was leaving, waving and smiling. Kirby slightly waved back, eyebrows crossed and head almost hurting. How exactly was he supposed to take that? How odd… He stared at the wine. It smelled of strong alcohol and grapes, with the distinct smell of a certain spice. He knew it was probably good in taste. However, he knew very well, from past experience, that he wasn't made for wine. He looked around, hoping not to find Dedede staring at him and waiting for him to drink, and finding no one – with relief – he quickly walked around, eyes looking everywhere. Maybe Fumu, or someone else would like that wine. Perhaps Parm?

As he walked, his eyes slowly looked up at the sky. Despite the lights from the festival, the stars were beautiful, each shining with its own light, each with its own world and stories. To explore these would prove to be an amazing adventure… but not today. He still had all the time he needed before heading out. If he believed Sir Meta Knight's words, time was not a problem for their specie.

Speaking of the devil, there he was; over there, a little out of the big part of the party. He was sitting down, keeping an eye on his apprentices, who seemed to be having a cocktail drinking contest, their helmets scattered on the ground. They even moved a table for themselves just to put the empty glasses. Fumu was there also, her eyes round as she counted each glass. She must have volunteered to count, as it didn't seem to be in Meta Knight's plans for tonight to be participating in their tournament. As he approached, Kirby even noticed that his mentor's eyes were directed to the sky, just as he had been doing a minute ago. His pace slightly quickened, somehow finding more interest in being with these people than his friends. Fumu turned, smiled and waved.

"Hi Kirby!"

He smiled back, sincerely.

"Hey, Fumu."

He stopped next to her, letting her hug him as it was the first time that night that they met, then turned his gaze to the drinking knights.

"They've been at it for thirty minutes now," Fumu told him before he could ask anything. "These guys are incredible…"

Meta Knight's voice echoed from behind them, soft and friendly.

"You have not been with them for as long as I was. I have seen things… that cannot be unseen."

Kirby turned to look at him and almost immediately he could feel the smile behind the metal mask. His pink eyes quickly faded back to golden. He was definitely in a good mood tonight. Maybe being carefree finally took its toll on his mentor. His voice once again pierced his mental defences and he saw the knight slowly lifting a finger to show his glass.

"Is this wine?" he asked, a simple curiosity.

Kirby looked down at the glass, now actually remembering that he still had this.

"I thought you didn't like wine and alcohol," Fumu added, also confused.

"Oh, don't worry, I still don't," he answered with a small chuckle. "In fact, Dedede gave it to me. He said it was an apology, or something, for all the stuff he did." Without him analyzing, he added: "Maybe he finally understood that all his attempts to drive me out were stupid… Maybe he changed."

"It would be- hic! about time!" Sword suddenly yelled, throwing an empty glass to the ground were the soft grass kept it from breaking.

Blade pointed at him and laughed loudly.

"You had a hiccup! You're starting to get tipsy before I do, my friend! This means that I w- hic!"

Sword pointed him back.

"Ha! Haha! It's impossible to get drunk so fast with these things, idiot! That means we continue!"

And so they each grabbed another shot and drank it whole. The other three each chuckled a little and Kirby turned back to his mentor, holding out the glass.

"Would you like to have it?" he offered with a kind smile. "As some sort of thanks for all your help these past years. I just realized I never got to thank you properly, so…"

"Yeah, he's right," Fumu said, seemingly proud of Kirby's realisation.

Meta Knight stared at the glass a moment, as it was impossible to know how he felt, and he gently took the glass, nodding his head and looking at his student.

"Don't mind if I do," he answered, and his tone easily suggested a smile on his lips.

He stood up, held the glass up for a toast, and as if answering this old tradition, the lights surrounding the festival, except a few on the tables, were all turned off. A sudden shot exploded near the beach, and all gazes looked up just in time to see millions of bright red stars light up in the sky, quickly fade and be replaced by others. The valley was filled with awestruck people who all whou-ed each time a firework exploded. Out of the corner of his eye, Kirby saw Meta Knight tip the glass through the slit of his mask and drink. As if sensing his gaze, the knight turned his eyes as well and nodded.

"Happy New Year, Kirby," he said gently.

Kirby smiled back: because he knew the knight was smiling as well. He was starting to understand this strange character and his hidden emotions, even if it took him years to do so.


End file.
